104 Miscellaneous Notes on Deneholes.
'Collectanea Antiqua,' and as that volume was printed for
subscribers only, and has never been published, but few
libraries possess it. Consequently a brief discussion of Mr.
Smith's article can hardly be thought needless on this
occasion, though I am doubtful whether you will consider it
"an act of charity" on my part to trouble you with it.
Mr. Smith's article is a very brief one, He begins by
stating that the caves on the north shore of the Thames have
now and then received some attention from antiquaries, and
that Camden concluded that they were of British origin and
were constructed for the purpose of storing corn. He does
not think, however, that these pits and similar ones in Kent
have ever been clearly understood. Then follows an account,
from the 'Building News' of Feb. 1st, 1868, of the then latest
Denehole-descent, a descent described by Mr. Smith as "an
investigation made by some explorers with care and discrimi-
nation."
The account quoted from the 'Building News' describes
the Deneholes visited as being in "Hairyman's Wood, in the
parish of Tilbury." On consulting the six-inch Ordnance Map
I can find no wood with such a name in either of the parishes
of East or West Tilbury. On the other hand, the Hangman's
Wood of our own descents is situated partly in the parish of
Little Thurrock, partly in that of Orsett; while another
Hangman's Wood may be seen westward, about half a mile
east of Aveley. As regards depth and general character, the
pits descended appear to have resembled Nos. 3 and 4 in
Hangman's Wood, but no plans or sections are given. By
some oversight a pit described as having chambers at the
bottom 18 ft. high is also said to have a conical heap of debris
at the base of the shaft 25 ft. high, which, if true, would
certainly have prevented admission into it. But neither this
last point nor the uncertainty as to locality are noticed by
Mr. Smith, who gives no indication of ever having descended
a Denehole himself.9
Mr. Smith then dismisses Camden's view, with the remark
that it is highly improbable, and brings forward his own,
which is that Deneholes are simply pits for procuring chalk.
His view has (he says) received confirmation from an agri-
cultural authority, Mr. Bland; and it is established, and
conclusive evidence given of the antiquity of these Deneholes,
by the testimony of Pliny the naturalist. In speaking of the
white chalk Pliny remarks, according to Mr. Smith, that it is
obtained "by means of pits sunk like wells with narrow
9 My object in giving these details is simply to illustrate the careless
contempt with which the Deneholes and their uses have been settled.